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 Barring a later ruling by the court, its inaction by midnight on the
groups' request for an injunction will allow the ban litigation
continues in the groups' lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.
Abortion rights groups say 85%-90% of abortions in Texas are
obtained after six weeks of pregnancy, meaning the law would most
likely force many clinics to close.
Such a ban has never been permitted in any state since the Supreme
Court decided Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized
abortion nationwide, in 1973, they said.
Planned Parenthood and other women's health providers, doctors, and
clergy members challenged the law in federal court in Austin in
July, contending it violated the constitutional right to an
abortion.
The law, signed on May 19, is unusual in that it gives private
citizens the power to enforce it by enabling them to sue abortion
providers and anyone who "aids or abets" an abortion after six
weeks. Citizens who win such lawsuits would be entitled to at least
$10,000.
Abortion providers say the law could lead to hundreds of costly
lawsuits that would be logistically difficult to defend.
In a legal filing, Texas officials told the justices to reject the
abortion providers' request, saying that the law "may never be
enforced against them by anyone."
A court could still put the ban on hold, and no court has yet ruled
on its constitutionality, Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the
University of Texas at Austin School of Law, said in a tweet.
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 "Despite what some will say,
this isn't the 'end' of Roe," he said.
Texas is among of dozen mostly Republican-led
states that have enacted "heartbeat" abortion
bans, which outlaw the procedure once the
rhythmic contracting of fetal cardiac tissue can
be detected, often at six weeks - sometimes
before a woman realizes she is pregnant.
Courts have blocked such bans.
The state of Mississippi has asked
https://www.reuters.com/world/
us/mississippi-asks-us-supreme-court-overturn-abortion-rights-landmark-2021-07-22
the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in a
major case the justices agreed to hear over a
2018 law banning abortion after 15 weeks.
The justices will hear arguments in their next
term, which begins in October, with a ruling due
by the end of June 2022.
The Texas challenge seeks to prevent judges,
county clerks and other state entities from
enforcing the law.
A federal judge rejected a bid to dismiss the
case, prompting an immediate appeal to the New
Orleans, Louisiana-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals, which halted further proceedings.
On Sunday, the 5th Circuit denied a request by
the abortion providers to block the law pending
the appeal.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York. Editing
by Gerry Doyle)
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